Chutes for feeding textile materials to cards



June`l7, 1969 y D. B. HARRISON ETAL 3,450,439

` CHUTES FOR FEEDING TEXTILE MATERIALS TO CARDS Filed April 19, 196? Sheet of 3 Filed April' 19, 1967 June 17, 1969A n.5. HARRISON EAL v 3,450,439

CHUTES FOR FEEDING TEXTILEv MATERIALS TO CARDS sheet Z nfs vFiled April 19. 1967 June 17, l969 D. B. HARRISON ETAL 3,450,439

CHUTES FOR FEEDING TEXTILE MATERIALS TO CARDS sheet 3 ofs 026% 0a@ /rra Nfyr United States Patent O U.S. Cl. 302-28 9 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A chute for collecting and feeding fibrous material to a card constituted by front and back walls, side walls and an enclosing top surface, the space between the front and back walls tapering gradually downward and the width of said front and back walls being approximately equal to the width o'f the lap to be fed to the card by delivery means at the bottom of the chute, the side walls being provided with openings in the upper part for delivery of fibres in an airstream and removal of the airstream with any fibres not deposited in the chute, at least a portion of the entrained fibres being deposited when the level of fibres in the chute is below the bottom level of said openings.

The present invention relates to chutes for feeding textile brous materials to cards.

Arrangements for feeding textile fibrous material from a common supply to a group of cards by means of chutes are well known. The chutes are often of box-like constructions open at the top and provided with delivery elements at the bottom. Fibres are conveyed mechanically or in an airstream and deposited in the open top of the chute. The open-topped chute is satisfactory when used in association with mechanical conveyors, but there is diliiculty in depositing fibres into such chutes from a conveying airstream and it has usually been necessary to provide specially shaped ducts and defiecting members in the region of the chutes to achieve even a partial separation of fibres from the airstream and into the chute.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved chute which will provide better separation of fibres from an airstream and will be simple in construction and operation.

According to the present invention, there is provided a chute for collecting fibrous material for feeding to a card, said chute having a back wall and a .front wall, the width of the said back and front walls being approximately equal to the width of the fibrous sheet to be fed to the card, an enclosing top surface to the chute, delivery means for the fibrous sheet at the bottom of the chute, and side walls forming the sides of the chute and being provided with openings in the upper part for the delivery of fibres in an airstream to the chute and removal of fibres in an airstream from the chute, the arrangement being such that the fibres are deposited in the chute from the conveying airstream when the level of fibres in the chute falls below the bottom of said openings.

One embodiment of the invention will now be described by Way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a rear elevation of a feeding arrangement for a series of cards, employing chutes according to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a plan of the feeding arrangement shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional end elevation of a chute `for one of the cards shown in FIG. 1, taken on the line III-III in FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a detail section of the chute shown in FIG. 3, taken on the line IV-IV in FIG. 3, and

FIG. 5 is a detail section of the chute shown in FIG. 3. taken on the line V--V in FIG. 3.

Referring first to FIG. l, a series of six cards C1 to C6 are arranged side by side in spaced relation in a single line and each is provided with a chute 11 in which fibrous material fed into the upper part of the chute is compacted `for delivery at the bottom of the chute in sheet form, where it is fed to the feed roller and taken-in of the card. Each chute 11, Ias viewed in rear elevation in FIG. l, is of trapeziform shape, the top being `slightly wider than the bottom so that the chute tapers slightly towards the bottom.

Referring now to FIG. 3, each chute is formed lby a back plate 12,. two side plates one of which is shown in FIG. 3 and given the reference numeral 13, a top plate 14 formed integrally with the back plate 12, and a front plate 15 so mounted as to swing from its top edge about a. pivot 16 at the front of the top plate 15, the swinging movement being imparted by a connecting rod 17 and crank mechanism 18 coupled to the bottom of the front plate 15 and driven by a motor 19. The 'back plate 12 extends downwardly into proximity to the nip of a feed roller 20 and feed plate 21 of the card, which are of conventional construction, and the chute 11 is secured to the framework of the card at its uppermost end at each side thereof by a link 22 extending from the front plate supporting pivot 16 to an erect frame member 23 fxedly mounted at its lowermost end to the card. The shape of the fixed back plate 12 and its disposition in relation to the front wall is such that the depth dimension of the cross section of the chute reduces gradually to the exit end of the chute. The front plate 15 of the chute is made from transparent plastic material and is strengthened by metal side pieces 24 and ribs 25 and 26 extending between the side pieces 24. Access to the upper part of the chute may be obtained through an opening in the back plate 12, which is sealed by a cover 27 during normal operation of the chute.

Each side wall 13 of the chute 11 is formed with an opening 28 of trapeziform shape, the front and rear edges of which lie generally parallel to the front and back plates of the chute and converge in the direction of the base of the chute. The opening in one side wall, which serves as an inlet opening, is longer than the opening in the other side wall, which serves as `an outlet opening, and the inlet opening is connected as shown in FIG. 4 to the exit of a supply duct 29 of the same cross-sectional shape as the opening 28 and of gradually increasing cross-section toward the exit of the duct, whilst the outlet opening is connected as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to an outlet duct 30 of the same cross-sectional shape and of gradually increasing cross-section, the duct serving as the fibre-supply duct to the next chute.

As shown in FIG. 4, the supply duct 29 is provided with end flanges 31 and 32 which slidably engage behind angled strips 33 and 34 secured to the side wall 13 of the chute. As will be seen from FIG. 3, the angled strip 33 extends above the opening 28 and the angled strip 34 below it and a further angled strip 35 extends down the side wall in front of the opening 28, between the two strips 33 and 34. The duct 29 is secured to the chute 11 by sliding it across the said wall of the chute from the rear thereof, with the flanges 31 and 32 engaging behind the angled strips 33 and 34 until a position is reached in which a side flange on the end of the duct 29 and identical to the anges 31 and 32 slides behind the angled strip 35 on the chute, in which position the trapeziform outlet opening in the duct 29 registers with the trapeziform opening 29 in the side wall 13 of the chute. The outlet opening on the other side wall of the chute is shorter than the opening 28, but the inlet end of the duct 30 is of a corresponding size and is secured to the side wall of the chute in the same manner as the outlet of the duct 29.

It will be seen from FIG. 1 that all the ducts 30 are of the same dimensions and in order to control the rate of ow of fibres through each chute an insert plate 36 may be interposed between the flanges on the duct and the side wall of the chute, the insert plate being provided with an opening 37 of the same shape as the opening 28 and of reduced size to provide the desired irate of flow into or out of the chute.

Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, the inlet opening of the c'hute 11 to the first card C1 is connected by the supply duct 29 to the outlet duct 38 of a fan 39 which draws fibres from a supply not shown and delivers them at high speed in an airstream to the duct 29. As shown, the outlet opening of the chute of each card except the last is connected to the inlet opening of the next chute by the duct 30, the duct 29 and each of the ducts 30 being arranged in a generally horizontal disposition and increasing in crosssection gradually from the inlet end to the outlet end thereof. The outlet opening of the last chute is connected to an outlet duct 40 which serves to remove any surplus fibres remaining in the airstream.

In operation, fibrous material is fed in an airstream to the supply duct 29 and as a result of the gradually increasing cross-section of the duct 29 reduces in velocity in its passage through the duct. The air ow cross-section abruptly increases as the fibres enter the upper part of the chute 11 of the first card C1 and as a result there is a further reduction in fibre velocity, which is suicient to allow fibres to be deposited in the feed chute 11, provided that the level of fibres in the chute 11 is below the bottom of the inlet opening. When the level of fibres, as indicated by the broken line in FIG. 1, tends to rise above the level of the inlet opening 28 there is a reduction in the cross-sectional area of the chute 11 available for the passage of the airstream and fibres are conveyed across the chute to the duct 30. The entrance to the duct 30, that is to say, the outlet opening in the other side wall of the chute 11 is smaller in cross-sectional area than the exit of the supply duct 29 or the cross-sectional area of the upper part of the chute and there is as a result an increase in velocity of the airstream as it enters the duct 30, which is sufficient to bring the airstream up to a fibre conveying velocity. Fibres which are not deposited on entering the chute pass to the duct 30 and so to the next chute in the series.

Fibres collected in the chute 11 are compacted by the action of the oscillating front plate and advanced to the exit of the chute where they pass into the nip between the feed roller and the feed plate 21 and from this feeding arrangement in sheet form to the taker-in of the card.

It will be seen that the chute 11 is inclined forwardly and downwardly with the back plate 12 extending downwardly into proximity to the nip of the feed roller 20 and feed plate 21 of the card, and provision is made for adjusting the spacing between the end of the back plate and the nip by means of an adjusting lever 41 attached at one end to the back plate 12 at the other end to a pin 42 eccentrically mounted on an end collar 43 fixed on a shaft 44 extending across the back of the chute and carrying an arm 45 which can be angularly deflected to turn the shaft 44 and which can be locked in position by a clamping screw 45 which passes through an arcuate slot 47 in a fixed vertical plate 48. A link corresponding to the link 41 is provided on the other side of the chute and is arranged to be operated in the same manner as the link 41 by an eccentrically mounted pin carried on an end collar on the other end of the shaft 44.

In arrangements hitherto proposed vertical chutes have been employed for feeding the cards and it has been necessary to provide a horizontal lattice between feed rollers at the bottom of the chute and the card feed system. The chute 11, as hereinbefore described, is inclined downwardly and forwardly with the advantage that sufiicient clearance is provided between the front of the chute and the card flats and the need for a conveying lattice obviated.

It will be seen in FIG. 3 that the lower end of the front plate 15 is provided with a flexible sealing strip 49 which rides over the feed roller 20, and a further sealing member 50 is attached to the lower end of each side plate 13. In addition, each side wall of the chute, as illustrated in FIG. 5, is provided along its front edge with a sealing strip 51, the arrangement of the sealing strips 49 and 51 and sealing members 50 being such as to prevent loss of air from the chute.

Card chutes constructed as hereinbefore described may with advantage be employed in a feeding arrangement for a series of cards as described and claimed in copending patent application Ser. No. 632,263, filed Apr. 20, 1967.

Provision may with advantage be made for varying the amplitude of oscillation of the front wall of the chute.

We claim:

1. A chute for collecting fibrous material for feeding to a card, said chute comprising a back Wall, a front wall, two side walls, an enclosing top surface to the chute, delivery means at an exit end of the chute at the bottom thereof for delivery of a fibrous sheet to the card, the distance between the front and back walls reducing gradually from the top of the chute to the exit end thereof, the distance between the side walls of the chute reducing gradually from the top of the chute to the exit end thereof, means for securing to an inlet opening in one side wall of the chute a supply duct of the same cross-sectional shape as the opening, means for securing an outlet duct to yan outlet opening in the other side wall of the chute, an insert interposed between the end of at least one of the ducts and the adjacent side wall of the chute and having an opening of the same shape as the opening in the side wall of the chute Ibut of reduced size to determine a desired rate of fiow into or out of the chute, and the front wall being pivoted to swing about a horizontal axis adjacent the upper edge of said front wall, and means for swinging said front wall about said axis to impart a compacting action to the fibrous material in the chute as it moves down toward the exit end of the chute.

2. A chute according to claim 1, wherein the opening in each side Wall of the chute is of trapeziform shape, the front and rear edges of the openings lying generally parallel to the front and back walls of the chute and converging in the direction of the exit end of the chute.

3. A chute according to claim 2, wherein the inlet opening in the said one side Wall of the chute is longer than the outlet opening in the other side wall.

4. A chute according to claim 3 wherein the supply duct is of the same cross-sectional shape as the inlet opening and of gradually increasing cross-section toward the exit of the duct connected to the opening, and wherein the outlet opening is connected to an outlet duct of the same cross-sectional shape as the outlet opening.

5. A chute according to claim 1, wherein the front wall of the chute is made `at least in part from a transparent material so that the contents of the chute can be observed.

6. A combination of a textile card and a chute according to claim 1, wherein the chute is inclined downwardly 5 and forwardly into :proximity to the nip of a feed roller and feed plate of the card.

7. A combination according to claim 6, wherein means are provided lfor adjusting the spacing between the exit end of the `chute and the said nip.

8. A combination according to claim 6 wherein the lower end of the front plate is provided with a flexible sealing strip which rides on the feed roller, and wherein further sealing means is attached to the lower end of each side plate, thereby to prevent loss of air from the exit end of the chute.

9. A combination according to claim 8, wherein a sealing strip is provided between each side plate and the adjacent edge of the front plate to prevent loss of air from the chute.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS ANDRES H. NIELSEN, Primary Examiner. 

